Journalists Marketing Mental Illness: Depakote Marketing Probes – Forced Medication by a parent, could it be considered reckless endangerment of another if you “believed” it helped?

By Maria Mangicaro

A Critical Analysis of the unclear agendas of individuals who have very little experience in mental health care taking on the role of an advocate by advancing the “drug treatment approach” while downplaying the side effects.

Symptoms of mental illness vary greatly and individuals all have unique responses to the medications.  Some side effects are dangerous.  Advocates who promote the treatment choice of Medication Management for symptoms of mental disorders should consider the liability issues of recommending potentially lethal side effects.

There are a broad spectrum of problems that involve the mental health care system and in desperate need of a unified advocacy agenda.

Two journalists who have taken on the subject of mental illness are Robert Whitaker and Pete Earley.  Both authors have pointed out there have been major lawsuits by pharmaceutical companies.   Earley is surprised the pharmaceutical companies who commit serious acts of crime do little to punish those responsible yet he does not support an advocacy against Medication Management and for Integrative Care.

Neither one are mental health professionals, nor do they state cleary whether they support the psychiatric survivor’s movement, or the anti-psychiatry movement.

In his book, Mad In America: Bad Science, Bad Medicine, And The Enduring Mistreatment Of The Mentally Ill, Robert Whitaker criticizes the validity of using psychiatric medications and instead considers a Healing Home environment.  Whitaker is not a mental health professional.

On journalist Pete Earley’s website it states:

“Pete Earley is a storyteller who has penned 13 books including the New York Times bestseller The Hot House and the 2007 Pulitzer Prize finalist Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness“

When his son experienced a bout of psychosis, rather than learning more about his own son’s condition and various treatment approaches, or taking a course in abnormal psychology, he chose to make a career out of it stating:

“I just feel so damn helpless,” I told my wife, Patti, one night. “I want to do something, but I don’t know how to help him.”

“Then do what you do best,” she said. “You’re a journalist. You make your living investigating stories. So investigate this. Pete Earley, the journalist, can dig out information that Pete Earley, the father, would never be able to do. If you want to help Mike, and others like him – then write about what he is going through, and find out why the mental health system in this country seems to be in such a mess.”

My own path as an advocate concerned with the social justice and mental health systems involved first obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in Legal Studies, that included coursework in the sociology of punishment, medical ethics, a paralegal certificate, and a mediation certificate.

I also researched my own health problems and have a peer review narrative published in the Journal of Participatory Medicine.

Mental health advocacy is an agenda that should be treated from a medical ethics perspective.   If you are advocating forced treatment with the use of medication management alone, you are limiting an individual’s choice and expecting them to take a toxic substance with no choice.  It is basically legal poisoning and cautions should be used when advancing a consumer-orientated agenda.

Pete recently posted on his blog about Abbot corp. making a “promise” on a drug he “believed” was helping.  He later found out the company.  His son did not want to take the drug but Pete tricked him into it.

Failure of Leadership at Abbott Breaks Its Promise

Depakote was prescribed to my son during this time frame and, like hundreds of other concerned parents, I urged him to take it because I believed it was helping him.

Forcing Abbott to pay $1.6 billion is not enough. Not only did the company harm countless individuals, but it violated a public trust. Nearly all of us with loved ones who have a mental disorder depend on medications. Compliance with medications is a major issue.  Incidents such as this undermine confidence, causing ripple effects.

Abbott’s pharmaceutical sales last year were $20 billion, about fifty percent of the company’s sales.  Depakote sales dropped to $331 million from $1.3 billion between 2008-2009. That was because Depakote went off patent and is now available as a generic. Overall, Abbott generated revenues in 2010 of 35 billion and net earnings of 4.6 billion.

Abbott is not the first to be caught pushing off label uses.  Pfizer paid $2.3 billion for marketing drugs, including its painkiller Bextra.  Knowing there is limited time under patent laws to maximize profits, unscrupulous companies encourage their sales forces to push medications into areas where the drugs do little good and sometimes can cause harm.

Fining Abbott hurts its stock holders, but does little to punish those responsible. The executives who pushed the off-label sales should be fired. And the board of directors who were asleep at the wheel should be forced to publicly apologize. One way to embarrass them would be for the government to require each board member to write a letter of apology and essay about ethics that would be published in Abbott’s annual report.

Here’s who’s on the board of directors of Abbott. They are not individuals who you would think of as snake oil salesmen. But in this instance, that is exactly what they are.

Apparently, Mr. Earley is finally catching on to the harmful effects of psychiatric medications and he has no awareness of much safer options including Integrative, Othomolecular and Functional Medicine.

I am surprised that a journalist who recommends

•May 7, 2012, The Wall Street Journal: Abbott To Pay $1.6B To Settle Depakote Marketing Probes
•April 10, 2012, FOX News: Shocking footage of Judge Rotenberg Center torturing a teen with symptoms of autism
•January 19, 2012, The New York Times: J & J to pay $158 million to settle improperly marketing its Risperdal antipsychotic drug to Medicaid patients, including children.
•Nov. 30, 2011, ABC News: Study Shows U.S. Gov. Fails to Oversee Treatment of Foster Children With Mind-Altering Drugs
•January 25, 2011, The Boston Globe: Tufts settles malpractice suit against Rebecca Riley’s psychiatrist for $2.5m
•The Boston Globe, March 26, 2010, The Boston Globe: Father convicted of 1st-degree murder in death of Rebecca Riley
•March 17, 2010, CBS News: After 7-Year-Old Gabriel Myers’ Suicide, Fla. Bill Looks to Tighten Access to Psychiatric Drugs
• January 21, 2010, The Boston Globe: Social worker warned that Rebecca Riley, 4, was overmedicated
• January 19, 2009, MSNBC: Eli Lilly settles Zyprexa lawsuit for $1.42 billion
• February 11, 2009, 48 Hours: Out Of Control: Enough Warning? Adderall causing a psychotic reaction
• May 13, 2004, Dept. of Justice : WARNER-LAMBERT TO PAY $430 MILLION TO RESOLVE CRIMINAL & CIVIL HEALTH CARE LIABILITY RELATING TO OFF-LABEL PROMOTION OF NEURONTIN

The Risky Business of Mental Health Advocacy: The Risky Business of Mental Health Advocacy: Are you creating a marketing campaign for products and services that can be forced on others?

CRAZY: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness is it an ad campaign for a products and services?

ABBOTT Board Should Be Forced To Publicly Apologize, Write Ethics Essay

Letter to the Surgeon General of the U.S. Army: ISEPP’s Pledge of Support to our Military

SOLDIERS DYING IN THEIR SLEEP

Published on May 15, 2012 by     favr8son62

ISEPP member Dr. Fred Baughman investigates why too many soldiers are dying after they return home.

Over medicating our troops without closely supervising side effects are leading to disastrous consequences.

Lieutenant General Patricia D. Horoho assumed command of the U.S. Army Medical Command was sworn in as the 43rd Army Surgeon General on 07 December 2011

ISEPP is a non-profit 501 (c3) research and education network focusing on the critical study of the mental health movement. We are primarily a network of professionals and individuals concerned with the impact of mental health theories upon public policy, therapeutic practices, individual well-being, and personal freedom. Our varied membership includes psychiatrists, psychologists, professional clinical counselors, academic researchers, educators, lawyers, psychiatric survivors, concerned family members, other mental health professionals, and advocates.

The ISEPP 2012 conference, “Alternatives to Biological Psychiatry II: Treatments That Work”, is scheduled for November 2-3 at the Airport Marriot Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Our call for papers remains open through May 2012;  click here to view it

THE FOLLOWING LETTER IS FROM ISEPP’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DR. AL GALVES TO THE SURGEON GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY.

May 16, 2012

Lieutenant General Patricia D. Horoho

Surgeon General of the United States Army

HQDA

5109 Leesburg Pike

Falls Church, VA22041-3258

Dear General Horoho:

The International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry (ISEPP) is very encouraged by the Policy Guidance on the Assessment and Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which your office recently issued.  We are especially pleased that you have classified benzodiazepines as harmful and have noted that Risperidone is harmful and not effective and that other atypical antipsychotics are harmful and of unknown benefit.

We believe that the use of psychotropic drugs in the treatment of PTSD is not in the best interest of soldiers and that using psychotropic drugs as a primary modality of treatment is one of the causes of the marked increase in suicides among soldiers returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We also applaud your endorsement of a large variety of non-drug psychotherapeutic approaches that have been proven to be safe and effective.  I would recommend that you add even more trauma-informed approaches, including Sensorimotor Psychotherapy which is powerful, safe and effective.  You may learn more about Sensorimotor Psychotherapy by going to www.sensorimotorpsychotherapy.org.

We do have some concerns about the enforcement of this Policy Guidance.  It is our experience that the belief in the value of drug therapy in general and antipsychotic drugs in particular is so strong among mainstream psychiatrists that it is unlikely they will comply with this guidance without strong and constant monitoring and enforcement.  Therefore, we pledge whatever support we can provide to you in that effort.

Again, thank you for taking a courageous stance that will greatly benefit your Service Members.

Sincerely,

Al Galves, Ph.D.

Executive Director

agalves2003@comcast.net

Uploaded by     nicabm on Jun 15, 2011

This is a preview of the third call in our teleseminar series on treating trauma. Here we talk with Pat Ogden PhD who explains what sensorimotor psychotherapy is and how sensorimotor psychotherapy works for healing trauma. Click here to learn more:

Vulnerability, Resilience, and Social Work Practice

Uploaded by     ubsswmedia on Sep 16, 2009

This is an excerpt from the University at Buffalo School of Social Work Alumni Day Presentation, click here to view the full video.

Why do some people collapse under relatively minor life strains while others bounce back from traumatic life circumstances and experiences such as poverty and racism, community and family violence, sexual and other forms of abuse, and loss of loved ones?

The presentation will examine what accounts for the marked individual variations in people’s responses to stress and adversity. Implications for social work practice will be explored and illustrated.

Cultural Arts Prevention and Intervention for At-Risk Youth: A Replicable Program Model

Uploaded by     ubsswmediaon May 22, 2009

Dr. William S. Rowe presents on Cultural Arts Prevention and Intervention for At-Risk Youth: A Replicable Program Model.  This is an excerpt from the Buffalo Center for Social Researchs Distinguished Scholar Series.  Click here to view the entire presentation on the Centers webs

Prodigy Program

The Prodigy Cultural Arts Program is a  multi-agency collaboration between the University Area Community  Development Center (UACDC), University of South Florida, and Bay Area  Youth Services, Inc. (BAYS). In 2003, the UACDC partnered with the USF  School of Social Work and BAYS to further the development of the Prodigy  Program. As the grantee, USF is a fiscal agent and responsible for  conducting outcomes-based research including sponsoring a recent  international study by McGill University that included the Prodigy Tampa  site. The Prodigy Cultural Arts Program is funded by the State of  Florida.

Prodigy is a research based structured program built upon an asset-based youth development model that promotes positive identity-building and pro-social norms. The studio experience, for youth, is based on a child-centered learning approach. Youth and artistic instructors collaborate on group and individual projects fostering an atmosphere of  cooperation throughout the program.

Prodigy serves youth aged 7 through 17 who fall into either the  Prevention, Diversion, or Intervention categories. Eligible youth must  reside within program zip code boundaries.

Prevention: Youth who are at-risk, but have not committed a delinquent  offense.

Diversion: Youth who have committed a delinquent offense and are  referred by the Department of Juvenile Justice or State Attorney’s  Office.

Intervention: Adjudicated youth referred and under the supervision of  the Department of Juvenile Justice or another Juvenile Justice program.

Prevention, Diversion, and Intervention youth receive art programming  services, and additionally, Diversion youth and their families also  receive case management services through BAYS.

A unique feature of Prodigy is the use of social purpose art  projects, where youth create art that ultimately connects them to their  lived experience, promoting the development of a better understanding of  community in the youth. Social purpose artistic themes have included:  exploring media influence, personal and cultural history projects,  conflict resolution, inner peace, self-reflection exercises, and  environmental and safety concerns.

The conceptual framework of Prodigy makes the program effective. Starting with art instruction, which is structured, cumulative, and sustained, as youth participate they gain art and task completion skills that facilitate their ability to develop a number of pro-social skills. Those skills in turn lead to self-efficacy and self-esteem which further facilitates youth bonding to pro-social peers and adults. The outcomes are a decrease in behavioral and emotional problems.   Click here for more information

 

Ethical and Risk-management issues in Social Work: What Every Practicioner Needs to Know

Uploaded by  ubsswmedia on Sep 16, 2009

This is an excerpt from the University at Buffalo School of Social Work Alumni Day Presentation, click here to view the full video.

Ethical standards in social work have matured significantly in recent years. New guidelines related to confidentiality, boundaries and dual relationships, conflicts of interest, informed consent, and termination of services supplement longstanding ethical standards that have been part and parcel of social work since the profession’s earliest years.

This presentation will provide an overview of compelling ethical issues that are central to social work practice. Using case illustrations, Dr. Reamer will acquaint the audience with standards and concepts that social workers can use to address complex ethical dilemmas that arise in practice. Emphasis will be on practical guidelines to help social workers protect clients and protect themselves from ethics-related litigation and complaints.

Frederick G. Reamer is Professor in the graduate program of the School of Social Work, Rhode Island College, where he has been on the faculty since 1983. His research and teaching have addressed a wide range of human service issues, including the mental health, health care, criminal justice, public welfare, and professional ethics.

Dr. Reamer has lectured extensively nationally and internationally on the subject of professional ethics and professional malpractice and liability. He chaired the national task force that wrote the Code of Ethics adopted by the National Association of Social Workers in 1996. Dr. Reamer received the “Distinguished Contributions to Social Work Education” award from the Council on Social Work Education (1995) and the Presidential Award from the National Association of Social Workers (1997).

iPad Apps unlocking the isolation of autism

For scores of people with autism, the iPad has changed a lot that is fundamental. Autism parents came out in droves after news of Jobs’ death was announced to tell stories of how much Apple technology created under his leadership has changed the lives of their children.

The iPad in particular is revolutionary for many kids with autism. Its size and form are large enough for people with motor problems to navigate, yet it is still sleek and hip enough for children to use without standing out as obviously different.  Click here to read more.

Uploaded by     ChathamTimmy on Oct 28, 2011

Uploaded by     TVSBSC on Oct 31, 2011

Using iPad apps as communication and learning tools for nonverbal children and those with symptoms of autism. Mobile platform games and education applications and accessories are highlighted.  Lauren Meatty, Regional Consultation Program, Schwartz Center for Children, North Dartmouth, MA Children’s Physical Developmental Clinic www.bridgew.edu/cpdc

What are affordable ways to help develop social, behavioral and cognitive skills when dealing with autism?

Posted by Maria Mangicaro

U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard, in an order signed in March, required Florida’s Medicaid insurance program for needy families to begin paying for a psychological program, called applied behavioral analysis, designed to improve the behavior, language and cognitive development of children with symptoms of autism. The state already requires commercial carriers to provide the therapy, also called ABA, to Floridians with private insurance — meaning children from poor families were being denied services more affluent children could access.

Judge Lenard called “outrageous” the state Agency for Health Care Administration’s position that behavioral therapy is an experimental treatment that is not widely accepted by experts in the field.

“It is imperative,” the judge wrote, “that autistic children in Florida receive [behavioral therapy] immediately to prevent irreversible harm to these children’s health and development.”

Although the ruling impacts only Florida at the moment, it could have significant implications in the future for other states, many of whom don’t provide coverage for the therapy through their insurance for the poor. Read more here.

I hope that mental health advocates will help create an awareness of this decision so that other states and insurance companies will consider making affordable alternative options available for parents who may otherwise consider psychiatric medications for symptoms labeled as autism.

What is Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and how can it be used to help autistic children learn?  

Uploaded by     EmoryUniversity on Aug  6, 2009

Dr. Michael Morrier, Assistant Director of the Emory Autism Center, gives an overview of this teaching technique.
Background
The Emory Autism Center is a component of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine. The program was opened in 1991 as a public, private and University collaboration. Since opening, the Emory Autism Center has become a national model for diagnosis, family support and innovative treatment, as well as a vital source of professional training.
Emory Autism Center http://www.psychiatry.emory.edu/PROGRAMS/autism/

Uploaded by     EmoryUniversity on Aug  6, 2009

How can parents of an autistic child make sure that child gets the special care and attention they need to succeed — even if they can’t afford a specialized, private school?
Dr. Michael Morrier, Assistant Director of the Emory Autism Center, gives suggestions for both pre-school and school-age children.

Uploaded by     EmoryUniversity on Aug  6, 2009

Why is developing social skills so important to an autistic child and how can they learn?
Dr. Michael Morrier talks about how social skills play a key role in most human interaction.

Professor Temple Grandin: My Experience with Autism and Thinking in Pictures

Uploaded by     UCtelevisionon Feb  7, 2008

Tune in for this unusual presentation on autism by someone with autism.  Animal Science professor Temple Grandin, who designs livestock handling facilities, discusses the value of early intervention in autism, and about medications. Other topics include her sensory sensitivities and how she manages them, how she and other autistic people think, and social relationships and careers. Series: “M.I.N.D. Institute Lecture Series on Neurodevelopmental Disorders” [6/2007] [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 12868]

Uploaded by     umon Nov 11, 2010

Temple Grandin is a Doctor of Animal Science and professor at Colorado State University, bestselling author, and consultant to the livestock industry in animal behavior. Facilities she has designed are located in the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Australia, and other countries. Her writings on the flight zone and other principles of grazing animal behavior have helped many people to reduce stress on their animals during handling.

As a person with high-functioning autism, Grandin is also widely noted for her work in autism advocacy and is the inventor of the hug machine designed to calm hypersensitive persons.

With support from the UM Autism & Communication Disorders Center.

Exploring a community approach at Lincoln High School in Walla Walla to handle bullying and discipline

At Lincoln High School in Walla Walla, WA, Principal Jim Sporleder has turned the idea of discipline upside down and inside out, with the result that suspensions are down by 85 percent, written referrals are cut in half, and expulsions by 40 percent.  He and his staff have created a place where the community’s lost children — the kids whose parents have little or no ability to care for them — have found a home, and are thriving and happy.  Click here to read more.

As senior Heidi Schoessler, 18, explains it: Students have ACEs (adverse childhood experiences). Those are the bad things going on in their lives. Resilience factors – such as asking for help, helping a friend, experiencing success, having hope — trumps those ACEs.  They’re beginning to learn about those resilience factors in school and in the school’s health clinic.

The Children’s Resilience Initiative (CRI) of Walla Walla is building the community’s capacity to strengthen families. While ACEs — adverse childhood experiences — are devastating to one’s health, CRI has created a model of our community’s services and roads to follow to build resilience. We are striving to help those affected and to prevent more ACES in our community. Resilience counters the damaging health effects of ACES.

 

Aki Imai at Occupy the American Psychiatric Association: Life after Labels

Published on May  9, 2012 by     jimgotts

Aki Imai at Occupy the American Psychiatric Association, 5/5/2012 in Philadelphia, PA.   Aki Imai is a 25 years-old Japanese graduate student who studies Clinical Psychology in Ohio.  Aki acts as an ally to support the voices and choices of survivors of psychiatric abuse.  In conjunction with MindFreedom International, and as part of the Boycott Normal Campaign,  Aki launched a submission-based blog, Life After Labels for people to submit stories about overcoming difficulties in receiving psychiatric diagnoses.

Harry Lichtenstein at Occupy the American Psychiatric Association, May 5, 2012, Philadelphia

Published on May  9, 2012 by     jimgotts

Harry Lichtenstein at Occupy the American Psychiatric Association, 5/5/2012, Philadelphia.  Harry is a long-time New York City activist for human rights in mental health, as well as for a more humane and wholistic health system for all.  Harry is a poet, speaker, runner, health enthusiast, teacher, and employee of Gary Null & Associates in Manhattan. Harry has helped start and currently coordinates the MindFreedom New York City affiliate.

Healing the Brain Naturally – Trailer

Uploaded by     GaryNullTVon Mar 16, 2011

In this powerful special presentation, Gary Null PhD and the world’s leading medical experts on brain health will show you how to prevent and reverse brain aging.

ISEPP Board Member Jim Gottstein at Occupy the American Psychiatriic Association

Published on May 10, 2012 by     jimgotts

Jim Gottstein at Occupy the American Psychiatric Association, May 5, 2012.  Psychiatric survivor, James B. (Jim) Gottstein, Esq. is president and CEO of the Law Project for Psychiatric Rights® whose mission is to mount a strategic litigation campaign against forced psychiatric drugging and electroshock. A Harvard-trained attorney and psychiatric survivor, Jim has helped provide leadership within a wide number of mental health advocacy organizations, as well as within the court room. He is also a member of the board of directors of International Society for Ethical Psychiatry and Psychology (ISEPP).

Frank Blankenship at Occupy the American Psychiatric Association, 5/5/2012, Philadelphia

Published on May  9, 2012 by     jimgotts

Frank Blankenship at Occupy the American Psychiatric Association, 5/5/2012, Philadelphia.

Frank is a long-time activist, blogger and protester for human rights in the mental health system, and founder of MindFreedom Florida. Frank chairs the MFI Affiliate Support Committee. Check out his blog Lunatic Fringe, highly critical of the mental health industry abuses. Frank has participated in a number of peaceful protests of the American Psychiatric Association, including of their Annual Meeting in San Francisco, and street theater directly in front of their office headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

Robert Whitaker on Imagining A Different Future in Mental Health, Philadelphia May 6, 2012

Published on May  7, 2012 by     jimgotts

Robert Whitaker, author of the acclaimed books, Mad in America, and Anatomy of an Epidemic,  speaks about how the data shows, we could have far better outcomes for people diagnosed with mental illness by going to a selective use of medications, rather than putting everyone on this very harmful drugs that are counterproductive for so many people.  Mr. Whitaker has won numerous awards as a journalist covering medicine and science, including the George Polk Award for Medical Writing and a National Association for Science Writers’ Award for best magazine article. In 1998, he co-wrote a series on psychiatric research for the Boston Globe that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. Anatomy of an Epidemic won the 2010 Investigative Reporters and Editors book award for best investigative journalism.

PLEASE NOTE:  ROBERT WHITAKER IS NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL AND DOES NOT HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE TREATING CLIENTS WITHIN THE MENTAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM.   HE IS NOT A MEMBER OF ISEPP AND IS NOT A MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCATE.

David Oaks at Occupy the American Psychiatric Association, 5/5/2012: Nothing can stop a “spirited” advocate

Published on May  6, 2012 by     jimgotts

David Oaks, Director of MindFreedom International rallies his troops at the Occupy the American Psychiatric Association rally before marching on psychiatry.